Passing Time
by Gaia 479
Summary: Another eighteen months have passed. Third and final part of "What may come to pass". Time has passed, things have changed, something went wrong. How do you make two people, seeming to be opposites, see eye-to-eye? Sweets. XO
1. Trouble in Paradise

_Disclaimer: Bones is the sole property of those responsible for bringing the Characters and Story to be. *Heart* you guys!(and gals...specifically Kathy Reichs.) Hart....you guys. And Fox. Gotta love Fox._

_This is the third and final part of the Story that began with 'What may come to pass'. There will be definite references to the previous two parts, as well as suggestions and references to all seasons of Bones. Not really spoilers...just hints._

_In the format of a love story...Boy meets girl, Boy gets girl, Boy loses girl, but...Boy gets girl back. And he will here too. This story deals with how. Please enjoy. XO_

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Chapter One...

Booth walked down the grassy path towards his destination. In his left hand he held the hand of his two year old son, and in his right hand he held tightly onto the hand of his three year old daughter.

Payton wanted to run ahead, to play amongst the headstones, but Booth held her tightly. Rio just walked quietly beside him. He had brought both of them here before, trying to instil the importance of the knowledge that one who had passed could still be there with them. That they could talk to the headstone, and somehow, the deceased person could hear their words.

He closed in on his destination and finally let go of Payton's hand. She ran ahead, and stopped in front of the marble stone where she had been before. She put the flowers down that she had carried with her and looked back to her father to see if what she had done was the right thing to do. He smiled and nodded. She smiled back, a mirror image smile.

He stopped in front of the headstone and sighed.

Rio followed his sister to a large tree that was growing nearby, and the two of them chased each other around, giggling and laughing. Booth smiled at their antics.

He knelt before the headstone and crossed himself. It was a few minutes before he spoke.

"Boy, do I wish you were still here. I need you now. I need someone to talk to. I don't know if I can get through this by myself..." He paused as he watched his kids playing. Payton was trying to climb the tree and he got up to stop her before she got too far. She had no fear.

Rio followed him back to the headstone sat down beside it. The little boy, who looked so much like his mother that it stopped Booth's heart when he made certain faces, picked up one of the flowers and handed it to his father.

Booth accepted it with a smile, and the little boy smiled too. His mother's smile. Booth missed her so much, but he couldn't go back in time. He couldn't change the past. He couldn't take back the words that were spoken.

"I really screwed up this time buddy. I don't know if we can fix this one."

Rio just looked at him. The little boy rarely spoke, usually because he couldn't get a word in edgewise with his sister constantly chatting, but he said three little words that made Booth feel temporarily better.

"I love you." The little boy had inherited his father's intuitiveness and said just the right thing.

"Thanks little man. I needed that."

He sat down beside his son and rubbed his back. He looked back to the headstone. Maybe it was a mistake to come here today. He knew his grandfather would not have spoken words to make everything okay. The voice he so desperately wanted to hear. He missed the man so much. He was sure that if his grandfather was still around he would talk some sense into him and Bones. He would have the right words to make them see that what they were doing was a mistake. But now, there was only silence. Except for Payton's giggling. She was trying to stalk a robin that was searching for something to eat in the grass, but every time she got near it, it hopped further away.

Eventually he stood up and picked up his son and called to Payton that it was time to go. He half expected her to argue, but she ran to his side and took his hand.

"Where are we going now Daddy?" Her little voice asked.

"We're going to Sid's to meet Helen, and then she's going to take you back to your mom."

The look on her face broke his heart. She knew that her time with her dad wouldn't last much longer. Their weekend had gone much too quickly.

"Can't you come home daddy? I want you there. You tell the best bedtime stories..."

"No, Sweetheart. I'm not coming home." He wished he could, but the situation between him and the woman he loved had not been resolved. Yet. The apologies that needed to be spoken had not yet come to light. He wondered if they ever would.

He bundled the kids into the back seat of his SUV and drove off towards Wong Foos to meet their nanny who would take the kids back to their mother's apartment. It had been their apartment until six months ago when their perfect life together had become two separate ones.

He didn't want to think about that now. He focussed on the last hour he would have with their kids. Booth glanced quickly in the backseat and realized that they had both fallen asleep. It had been an eventful day at the zoo, and a picnic lunch at the park. It had been a good day, but the hard part was about to come. Saying good bye.

He pulled up outside the restaurant and noticed that Helen's car was already parked outside. She was early. He waved when she looked up and saw him pulling up. She got out of her car and met him at the curb. She reached into the back and gently pulled Rio out of his seat and carried him to her car. Booth followed with the still-sleeping little girl. He was kind of grateful that the kids stayed asleep. It would prevent the tears that he knew were coming. He kissed them both quickly and met the nanny on the driver's side of her car to say thank you for picking them up.

He wanted to ask how Bones was. He wanted to ask her a lot of things, but she had told him a few months ago that she was tired of being stuck in the middle of the two. If he wanted to know how she was, he could ask her himself. He liked the nanny. She had attitude and she was great with the kids. They adored her.

She had been a good find after months of interviewing possible applicants to look after their kids. He smiled quickly at the memory of the process of finding the perfect nanny.

Temperance's search for her perfect intern left nothing to compare to the vigorous tests she put the potential nannies through. Helen was the only one who had passed all the tests with flying colours.

Now, he watched as she drove off with his kids. It would be another week before he saw them again. His heart was sad, and he walked up the few steps into the restaurant and sat at the bar waiting for whatever Sid would think he needed to eat, or drink. Preferably drink.

Sid approached him empty handed and Booth looked at him with large eyes and his hands held out.

"What Sid? Have you lost your skill at knowing what people need? Can I have a beer?"

"I haven't lost my touch...I just don't have what you need. What you need is across town. Probably sifting through some old bones in a certain lab. Why don't you just go apologize already? This is killing you. I hate to see you like this."

"Well... She has to apologize too. I'm not the one who was left standing at the altar. Oh wait... yes I was. She's the one who decided that she couldn't marry me, and had no good reason as to why not. Or if she had a reason, she wouldn't tell me what it was." Booth had explained this to Sid already. He was tired of explaining.

Sid just shook his head. He couldn't make his friend see how stupid he was being. Everyone thought so. He was sure he didn't have the whole story, but no one but the two involved knew the whole story. And they weren't talking. As far as Sid knew, they hadn't spoken directly in months. Whatever had happened between them had not come any closer to being resolved. He knew something about her though. Some buddies of theirs from the FBI had told him the other day. Booth and Brennan were a hot topic of gossip for the FBI people.

Sid decided to find out if the man at the bar knew what he did.

"So, Seeley... I found out something the other day. About Doctor Brennan." He carefully gauged the man's reaction.

"What?"

Sid finally placed a beer in front of his friend and waited until the man had a sip.

"Well, a couple people saw her the other day at the Hoover building and they said she looked like she was pregnant. Anything you haven't told me?"

Booth carefully swallowed his mouthful and looked at the man behind the bar.

"Yeah. I guess she went through with it. She wanted to be a surrogate for her friend Angela. I was opposed, and I told her that if she did it, we were done. I wondered if she had. I guess that's my answer." He took another drink from the bottle in front of him.

"Why are you so opposed to that? It's kind of a great gift that she could give her friend."

"Because she told me that she didn't want to have another baby with me. She didn't want to go through that again. Neither pregnancy was easy on her and she decided that two were enough for her. I agreed with that, but then she shows up one night and bluntly tells me she's going to have a baby for Angela and Hodgins. She cares more about them than she does about me."

"Aren't you being just a little selfish there Agent Booth? It's her body to do with as she pleases. If that's what she wanted why couldn't you go along with it?"

"Because Sid, she had absolutely no consideration for my feelings. It's a two way street right? Or so I thought. I guess she never really cared about me. She just used me to have a couple of kids, and then she didn't need me anymore." Booth took another sip. His expression was one of disbelief.

"Honestly Seeley, you don't really believe that do you? I have never met two people who were more suited for each other. You guys were so happy once you finally hooked up. I can't believe that you can't work through this...If you want my opinion..."

Booth waved him off indicating he didn't want to talk about it anymore. He really didn't. No one seemed to understand his point of view. The Squints had all given him the third degree to the point that he couldn't face them anymore. He had asked Cullen to transfer him to another department so that he wouldn't have to go to the Jeffersonian anymore. Wong Foos was the only place he got any breaks. Until now.

Sid seemed to sense that his friend's answering of questions was done. He put another beer on the counter even though the first one was only half done.

With Sid finally leaving him alone, he had time to think.

He missed his Grandfather. His confidant for so many years. The one who had been there when his relationship with Bones had finally come to be. He could use the old man's advice about now, but as often as he visited the grave, and asked; sometimes begged, no answer ever came.

He would have to fix this on his own, but he had no idea how to start. He had alienated himself from all the Squints; Jared was gone off on some new undercover mission. Parker was still in Florida. Max had taken Temperance's side and wouldn't talk to him. Murphy had not been able to handle the stress of the constant death and mayhem that their job dealt with and had asked for a transfer to another department. Booth rarely saw him now, and when he did, Murphy only wanted to discuss how selfish they were both being. Murphy seemed to be mad at him especially.

It wasn't only his fault. It was hers too.

Neither would make the first step towards reconciliation, and there he sat. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to be. He finished his first beer and picked up the second. Five more days until he could see his kids again.

He sighed. His thoughts strayed to what she might be doing now. She had really gone through with the surrogacy. He knew he had reacted badly to her decision, but his pride would never let him admit that to anyone. His pride, that had been hurt so badly when she bailed on their wedding.

Stupid pride. Always got him in trouble...

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To be continued...


	2. Sweets' Intervention

_A/N: So, my wonderful summer plans have been thwarted by big storm dropping a rather large tree through my kitchen wall. So, I'm home and dealing with wank-tard contractors who don't seem to understand the inconvenience of having a giant hole in my house. So, if i write a contractor into this story and write him being killed off in some horrible fashion, that's why. Sigh. Oh well. Life is always interesting. I guess I'm in this story for the long run. Not too long, but the long run none-the-less. Sorry for venting, but updates should be regular. Ciao. XO._

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_Chapter Two..._

Booth sat behind the desk in his office. He was bored. His morning training session had been interesting, but he had no other commitments until the next day. He had been appointed by Deputy Director Cullen to the Training and Development division of the FBI. Cullen was pretty sure the transfer was only temporary, but he had granted the man's request to no longer be involved in any case that might involve the crew from the Jeffersonian.

Cullen had really hoped that Booth and Brennan would solve whatever problems had come between them. He had never met a couple so obviously meant for each other, and he wondered exactly what had happened to split them up. He had only heard rumours, but Booth would neither confirm nor deny any of them to him. He was very politely told that it was none of his business, with all due respect. Cullen had stopped asking, but he kept Booth's position open with the Homicide Division. Just in case.

Now Booth sat, trying to do paperwork, but his mind kept wandering. His thoughts went back to the training session that morning, where he had been showing the wet-nosed newbies the ropes of being with the FBI. There were twelve young, alpha-males, cocky as hell and optimistic about their futures. Booth had liked them all immediately.

He was pretending to read over a file when he heard a light knocking on his door. He looked up to see Doctor Sweets seeking permission to enter. He waved the man in, and set the file down.

He didn't associate much with Sweets anymore, at least not much since he and Bones had come back to DC after the Gravedigger had kept them on the run for almost two years. The friendship they had started to form all those years ago had faded. In fact, Booth couldn't remember if they had even spoken since Sully's trial. He didn't think so. They hadn't even invited him to their almost-wedding. The guest list had been very small, and even now he remembered the pity in everyone's eyes when it became obvious that she wasn't going to show. The scar was still fresh.

"Good afternoon Agent Booth. Are you busy?" Sweets made a gesture towards the empty seat across from his desk, asking if he could sit. Booth nodded, giving him permission.

"No Sweets. Not really. What brings you by?" He tried to hide the graphic novel he had actually been reading that was tucked inside the file, but Sweets' quick eye caught the action and he grinned.

"What are you reading there?"

"Uh, it's just a story I picked up for Parker. You know, just making sure the content is suitable for him." Booth flushed slightly, embarrassed to have been caught reading the subject matter he had.

"I know what it is, but which comic is that? Justice League? Superman?" Sweets really wanted to know.

"It's uh, The Green Lantern. It's a pretty good one."

"Ah, the Green Lantern...that is a good one."

Booth was surprised that Sweets was familiar with the novel.

"In the brightest day, in the blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight... Let those who worshipped evil's might...Beware my power..." Sweets started the Green Lantern's quote and Booth finished it,

"...Green Lantern's light. Ha-ha, that's awesome that you know that. That's a true fan. Well... a true Hal Jordan fan anyway! There is debate over whether or not he was the best 'Green Lantern'. I had no idea you were a comic book geek, though I guess I should have known. You seem like the type who would appreciate them." Booth smiled, happy to have someone talk about anything other than the troubles between him and Bones.

Sweets smiled too. He had used a classic psychological approach to relax the man and make him comfortable. He had found a common interest, and wondered how to approach the topic he had really stopped by to discuss. Booth was clever and would see through him if he jumped right in to it, so he made more small talk.

"How is Parker? Is he still in Florida?" He watched the man's smile fade slightly.

"Yeah, but he's flying in this weekend to spend a week with me. I am definitely looking forward to it. Me and the kids are going to pick him up at the airport Friday night, after the nanny drops them off at my place."

Sweets knew the subject was close to being broached, but he still treaded carefully. He would be patient, and wait for Booth to say her name first. Wait for him to bring up the subject. He kept the conversation on the periphery of his goal.

"Do you have Payton and Rio every weekend?" Sweets knew the answer, but that was another psychological technique. Only ask the questions you know the answer to and keep the patient talking about him or herself. Not that Booth was his patient, but the technique worked.

"Yeah, that's one thing Bones and I had actually agreed on. She promised to never deny me access to our kids. I have them every weekend, and she has them during the week. That way the nanny only has to work five days a week. It's a pretty good arrangement."

Her name had been spoken. Sweets decided to push his luck.

"So... are you two talking at all right now?"

Booth immediately tried to divert the conversation away from the topic he was starting to suspect Sweets really wanted to discuss.

"Me and the nanny? Yeah, we talk all the time. Every Friday and every Sunday night, when we make the exchange." Booth looked at Sweets, his face perfectly neutral.

"You know that's not what I meant, but I'll clarify. Are you and Doctor Brennan speaking at all?"

Booth sat quietly for a moment, unsure whether or not to actually discuss the subject that tortured his soul every minute of his waking day. He decided that he could use a friend about now. Sweets could be very useful at times, if his memory served him correctly. Maybe he would have some advice worth listening to.

"No. We haven't actually spoken in two months, fourteen days," He looked at his watch, "eleven hours, and about twelve minutes."

"Why not?"

"Because all we did was fight and argue. There was nothing left to say." Booth looked sad.

"All you guys ever did was argue; it was one of the things that intrigued me into learning more about how you guys functioned so well together. It was like, what the first four chapters of my book were about." Sweets watched the man carefully, wondering how much Booth would be willing to open up about.

"I never actually read your book, I have to be honest." Booth, again, tried to steer the conversation away from the topic everyone wanted to discuss. Sweets saw the diversion attempt from a mile away, but he refrained from talking about himself.

"Booth, I am also going to be honest. I want to help you and Doctor Brennan resolve whatever it was that happened between you. I am offering my services to you." He decided to throw the issue in Booth's face and see where it went from there.

Booth was silent for a moment. He looked suspicious.

"Why? What's in it for you?"

"There is no benefit to me except to help two friends who desperately need my expertise pertaining to matters of the heart. Though I have to admit, some of the other FBI psychologists are mocking me as to how wrong I was about you guys. I want to redeem myself in their eyes. But most importantly, I want you two to be happy. You're both miserable right now."

"How do you know she's miserable?" Booth had a glimmer of hope in his eyes that Sweets caught instantly. If she was as miserable as he was, maybe there was a chance for them.

"Because Angela called me yesterday to ask if I would intervene, but I wanted to come and see how you felt about the situation first." Sweets crossed his legs and put one hand under his chin with his finger pressed into his cheek and tried to look professional and mature. This was the moment where Booth would accept his help, or not.

"Is Angela actually talking to you again? You know, after the whole Zack thing. The Squints were pretty pissed at you." A small smile crept across the Agent's face as he remembered some of the colourful things that Angela and Hodgins had said about the young Doctor.

"Not really, but she is very worried about Doctor Brennan. She wants more than anything to see you guys back together. She asked me for my help, and now I am offering it to you. What do you say? Will you let me help you?" He uncrossed his legs and crossed them again.

Booth stared at him while he considered his options in his head. He admitted that he couldn't do this by himself. He didn't know how to start the dialogue that would lead to the chance to apologize for acting the way he had. And, if she was miserable to the point that Angela was worried, then maybe she was ready to apologize too. Of course Angela would be worried about Bones. She was carrying her baby. Booth was sure that was not the only reason for Angela's concern. He truly liked the artist and she had been Bones' best friend and confidant since before he had even met the woman who he was so madly in love with still.

He regretted now more than ever alienating the Squints. He could have used their help, but he had pushed them away. Just as Bones had pushed him away. And he had let her. How could he have been so stupid? Maybe Sweets could help bail him out of this one.

Doctor Sweets watched as an obvious spectrum of emotions played across the man's face. Sweets knew what his answer would be before he said it out loud.

"Yes. I need your help."

Sweets smiled a huge smile that made him look temporarily younger. He caught himself, and tried to look professional again. He shifted his face to his other hand and looked carefully at Booth.

"I'm glad to hear you say that. That's a huge first step."

"There's one condition though Sweets." Booth had no hint of a smile now. He meant business.

"What's that?" He had seen foreseen the bargaining from Booth. He wondered what the request would be.

"I don't want all of our business to end up in your next book. This is between the three of us okay? A little discretion would be appreciated."

Sweets nodded agreement. He wondered why Booth would want so much discretion about this when Doctor Brenan so obviously wrote about their sex life in her last book. Some of those scenes had been very descriptive and it was obviously semi-biopic, but he agreed to Booth's term. He really only wanted to help his friends. They deserved to be happy together. As a family.

"Okay Agent Booth, I'll need some background info. Do you want to get started right now?"

Booth had nowhere to be. Now seemed like a good a time as any. He thought of something else.

"One more thing..." he waited while the young man across from him nodded, "Can you not be all super psychological with us? Bones would hate that. Can you do this as our friend? Not as a shrink?"

"Absolutely. You have my word. As a friend. Now, why don't you tell me where things started to go wrong?"

Booth rested his chin on his hands, leaning forward on his desk. He thought for a few moments.

"Well, I think it was during Sully's trial. That's where I first noticed she was getting a little distant. She started staying late at the lab, doing menial jobs. It seemed to me like she was avoiding me, but she never said anything. She came home late at night, after the kids and I had gone to bed, and she left for the trial early in the morning, before I woke up." He watched Sweets doing a mental evaluation of his words, and paused when the man seemed to come to some sort of conclusion already. He stayed silent, waiting for Sweets to speak.

"How did this make you feel?"

"How do you think it made me feel?" Booth turned the question right back at him, and Sweets smiled at his defensive coping mechanism.

"Okay. I think it made you feel unappreciated, and perhaps a little unwanted. You need to be needed, and Doctor Brennan chose to deal with her emotional reactions to the situation by herself."

"What emotional reactions would those be?"

"Think about it Booth. You guys suffered the ultimate form of betrayal when it was being proven before your eyes in that court room that someone who claimed to be your friend, someone who had claimed to on your side, was in fact the very one who was trying to kill you. That's not an easy thing to deal with. Especially for someone like Doctor Brennan, who had been betrayed before by people who were close to her. I think she was emotionally detaching herself from you, in order to save you the hurt of feeling her pain too. You are very empathic."

Booth thought about what the Doctor said. It kind of made sense. She was trying to spare him the pain of her pain. He hadn't considered that before. He looked Sweets in the eyes.

"There was also the little incident where she bailed on our wedding. She had seemed happy about it, but then... we decided on a small, simple ceremony and she just didn't show up. The only explanation she would give was that she wasn't ready." The memory brought tears to the man's eyes, which he stifled quickly. He wasn't quite ready to let Sweets see how much that had really affected him. Sweets saw.

"Is getting married that important to you? Does it mean everything to you? Can you understand that maybe what she wants is important too? I mean, she has always made her feelings on matrimony pretty clear." Sweets tested some boundaries with his line of questioning.

"But Sweets, why is what she wants the only important thing? Shouldn't my wants be considered too? Why should it be all about what she wants?"

"Did you guys talk about it?" Sweets diffused the tension for a minute, giving him some time to think about how to take the revelations that Booth was revealing to him. This was deep.

"We tried, but I was hurting, and I snapped at her a lot. I can admit that I handled things badly, but she refused to see things my way. It's like we're total opposites sometimes."

Sweets smiled, remembering a long-ago conversation with Doctor Gordon Wyatt.

"You're not so opposite as you think Agent Booth."

Booth didn't know what he meant exactly. He sighed. As much as it hurt to talk about what had happened, it felt good to be getting a few things off his chest without being persecuted. Sweets had done a good job so far of not being judgemental.

They had a long way to go.

But, he was willing to try if she was. He really hoped she was.

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TBC...

_Thanks D. for your Graphic Novel help. Loves my geek. XO_


	3. Sweets tries for 2 for 2

_**Chapter Three...**_

Doctor Brennan was in Limbo.

She had not been summoned by the FBI liaison yet that day, so she had time to work on analyzing some old bones that sat waiting to have their humanity restored. She worked alone, and for that she was grateful. No one had asked her about Booth in what had to be hours now.

She held the pelvis bone up to the light and stared at it, turning it slightly in her hand and finally setting it down on the table and spoke into the digital audio recorder in her other hand. Nothing could be determined from that particular bone regarding cause of death. She picked up the next, a piece of the tibia, and also held it up while she squinted at the faded, white bone. Nothing could be determined from that bone either. She spoke again into the recorder.

This was how she spent so many of her days lately. Trying to avoid everyone. Trying to move on with her life. Not that she particularly wanted to, but she and Booth had not made any effort at all to reconcile. They hadn't even spoken in so long now, that she wondered if there was still a chance.

After everything they had been through, it had come down to this. As many times as she wished that he would stop talking, when they were in the car, or when he and Murphy were teasing her endlessly on the boat, she had never thought that he would stop talking to her entirely. She had never thought it would escalate this far.

As she picked up the next bone off of the table, her eyes were on the item, but her thoughts were elsewhere. They strayed to where they usually strayed these days. Back to her partner. Or her former partner. She didn't know where they stood exactly, but they definitely weren't speaking.

She had been hurt when he had transferred departments so that he no longer had to see her. He hadn't even told her. She had been hurt, but she knew it was nothing compared to the hurt she had caused him when she had stood him up at their wedding. She wondered if it was a slight payback.

She had found out only when a new Special Agent showed up one morning to escort her to the crime scene. She couldn't remember the Agent's name, he had only worked a couple of cases with her and then another one had showed up. The rotating mix of FBI Agents hadn't interested her. Not like Booth had. Even from the first day he had interested her. He was not at all what he had seemed to be on first impression and had continued to intrigue her over the years.

He still intrigued her.

She wondered what he was doing now. She wondered what their kids were doing now. Maybe she could call home and talk to Helen and see if everything was going well with their day. She set down the bone and the recorder and turned towards the door, and she jumped in shock to see Angela leaning against the door frame. She wondered how long her friend had been standing there.

"Ange, you scared me. What are you doing there?"

"Just watching you work. I didn't want to interrupt; you looked very deep in thought. Here..." Angela handed her a cup of coffee, which Brennan eyed carefully.

"Don't worry, it's decaf." The artist smiled.

"Thanks. I was just on my way to my office, but thanks for this." She sipped the hot beverage and started to walk towards the door, careful not to spill any of the drink.

Angela started to follow her, not saying anything at first. She wasn't going to let her friend avoid her this time. They needed to talk. About anything. She was really starting to worry about her friend's increasing reclusiveness. It reminded her too much of the old Brennan. The one who hadn't been around much since a certain FBI Agent had come into her life and made her aware of certain emotions.

Brennan was aware that her friend was following her but was hesitant to make the first move towards conversation. It wasn't the only first move she was afraid to make lately. She finally broke the silence as they walked.

"Is there something you needed Ange?"

"No. Nothing in particular. I just thought maybe you would like to talk. Not about Booth, not about your situation... just talk."

They approached her office and Temperance paused before she walked through the open door. She looked at her friend carefully, wary of a set-up.

"I don't really have anything to say. We both know that the conversation will inevitably turn towards something Booth related, and frankly, I don't really want it to go there right now. I have to make a phone call, so if you don't mind..." She gestured towards the interior of her office, trying to subtly pass on the hint to her friend that she wanted to be alone.

Angela caught the hint and turned to go. She was so frustrated. It was a good thing that Sweets had agreed to help with the matter, because everyone else was at their wits end. Booth and Brennan could both be so damn stubborn sometimes. She looked back into the office and watched as Doctor Brennan sat carefully behind her desk. She rubbed her pregnant stomach gently and adjusted her clothing so that her gravid condition was slightly concealed by the baggy top she wore.

She wouldn't be able to hide it much longer. People were already gossiping. Angela had overheard some of the lab staff talking in the lunch room, but she quietly kept her friend's secret. Hodgins knew, Angela knew, and Cam was really starting to suspect, but no one else knew of the situation with her pregnancy. It would come out before too long, of that, Angela was sure. She smiled as she envisioned holding her own child in her arms someday.

She turned to walk back to her own office and bumped into Doctor Sweets who was approaching her from behind. Sweets grabbed her arm to steady her and asked how Doctor Brennan was doing. Angela smiled, but it was not a smile of happiness, it was a smile of hopelessness.

"Good luck man. If you can actually get her to agree to let you help her, you will have my ultimate respect." Ange patted him on the shoulder and then pushed him gently towards the office of the person who so desperately needed his help, but would never ask for it.

She watched him take a deep breath before he knocked gently on the door.

Doctor Brennan was on the phone, but gestured for Sweets to enter. When he crossed the threshold, she pointed to the empty chair across from her desk. He sat and waited for her phone call to end. He suspected she was talking to the nanny and listened carefully as she spoke, but tried to make it look like he wasn't listening at all.

"No, you can tell her that I promise I will come home early tonight. I'll be there before they go to bed. And yes, I will read her that story...Okay. Thanks Helen. I'll see you later." She hung up the phone and looked at the man sitting on the opposite side of the desk from her.

"Hello Doctor Sweets. I haven't seen you around lately. What brings you by?"

"Well, I was in the neighbourhood and I thought I'd stop by and say hello. I haven't seen you since Sully's trial. How are you?" He tried to keep the conversation casual. She would be harder to convince than Booth to let him help.

Brennan looked at him suspiciously. She wondered what his purpose for being there really was. He wasn't one to just casually stop by and ask her how she was. It's not like they were really good friends. They had been once, but that was a long time ago. They had never really reconnected since her and Booth's return to DC.

"I will admit that I have been better; regarding certain aspects of my life. How are you?" She tried to turn the conversation back towards him. Classic defensive move.

"I am well. Thank you for asking." He wondered how to approach the subject he wanted to discuss, but the strategy he had come up with in the car on the way over had abandoned him now that he sat across from her and looked in her eyes. He decided to throw psychology out the window when it came to dealing with her. He decided that an honest approach might be more beneficial.

"I'm going to be honest Doctor Brennan, I have been asked by people who care about you to intervene and to help you and Booth resolve whatever problems have come up between you." He braced himself for her reaction.

There was not an immediate one. This surprised him. She simply looked at him, her expression neutral, while she pondered what to say.

"The problems between us haven't really remained between us have they?" Her neutral expression was altered only briefly by a flash of anger in her eyes, "Everyone seems to know our business and wants to intervene. I have to ask, why do you want to get involved?"

He carefully chose his words.

"Because people who care about you are worried about you. We all want to see you and Booth get back together. Nothing can be so bad between you guys that it can't be resolved."

"I don't know Doctor Sweets. We both said some things that can't be taken back."

"Okay, I agree, they can't be taken back, but perhaps they could be forgiven. What was said exactly?" Sweets wondered how much she would reveal.

She now carefully chose her words, wondering how much to reveal to the psychologist. Her analytical brain knew that he could be the catalyst to getting her and Booth to speak to each other. He would provide excellent mediation between them if things got heated. Would it be worth the risk?

"I really think that's between Booth and me. The words selfish and egotistical were spoken by both of us to the other." Her faced flicked briefly with sadness as she remembered their fighting.

"Okay. When was the last time you and Booth actually spoke face to face?" He already knew the answer, but he asked her anyway. He couldn't avoid all psychological techniques.

"Two months, fifteen days," She looked at the clock on the wall, "nine hours, and about twenty minutes."

Sweets couldn't help but smile at what she had just said, and the way she had said it. She noticed his smile and her defensive guard came back up in-between blinks.

"I appreciate you're wanting to help, but I think this is something I can handle on my own." Her face was serious.

'I only want to help you as a friend. Please don't consider this psychological interference. I can tell that you're miserable. Booth is too."

"How do you know that Booth is miserable?" She had caught him with his own defence.

"Because I saw him and spoke to him yesterday. He's willing to meet if you are."

"Well, you can tell him that if he wants to talk to me, he can arrange it himself. I won't be setup by you two. Now, if you don't mind, I really have some work to do." She flipped open the laptop on her desk and tried not to look at him again.

He thought she looked a little flushed all of a sudden. There had been an emotional response of a small sort. Not the one he was hoping for. He stood up and reached into his pocket, pulled out a small card and set it on her desk when it became obvious to him that their conversation was over.

"If you change your mind, give me a call. I only want to help."

She ignored him as he left her office.

He walked towards the doors of the lab and was intercepted by Angela, who had been hovering around the platform, waiting to find out how it had gone. He shook his head as she looked questioningly at him. He watched her shoulders slump as she sighed.

"Well, we still have Plan 'B'." She tried to look optimistic.

"What's Plan 'B'?" He was curious.

"We lock them together with handcuffs in a padded room, and inject them both with truth serum," She watched Sweets try not to laugh, "Seriously; Hodgins says he knows where to get some."

Sweets smiled sadly and made to leave. He wasn't sure how he was going to tell Booth about their little meeting today. He decided that it could wait until tomorrow. He would let the man have one more night of hope.

**

Temperance arrived home early as promised to her daughter and spent an entertaining evening with her kids. She read them the longest story she could find and stayed in the room with them until they both fell asleep. After making herself a cup of hot tea, she prepared herself for bed, stopping first to examine her growing stomach in the full length mirror. Before she realized it, she had broken out in tears that couldn't be stopped.

She went into the bathroom to do something that had helped her to feel better a few times before. She reached into the medicine cabinet and pulled out a bottle that was located behind a few others. She went to her bed, their bed, and sprayed some of his cologne on the pillow where he had always slept.

She crawled under the covers and pulled the pillow close to her and inhaled deeply. The tears continued. She missed him so much. The scent of him was no substitute for his warm body and loving arms wrapped around her, and sleep evaded her.

Finally, she sat up and turned the bedside light on. Who was she fooling? She was miserable. She wasn't even fooling herself anymore.

She got up and went to the kitchen where she had dropped her bag when she had come home earlier, and pulled the small card out of the outer flap. She picked up the phone and dialled the number. When the call was answered on the other end, she spoke,

"Doctor Sweets? It's Doctor Brennan. Look... I'm sorry to call so late, but I've changed my mind. I need your help..."

The man instantly agreed. He told her he would set something up in the next few days and get back to her. She told him that she had one condition though. When he asked her what it might be she replied,

"Can you promise to help us as our friend, not as our Psychologist? I think that would be better for Booth and me. I don't really want all of this ending up in your next book."

She wondered about his stifled laugh, but he agreed to her terms. After she hung up, she went back to bed, pulled the Booth-scented pillow close to her, and had the sweetest dreams of him making love to her again.

**

**

**

TBC...


	4. Face to Face They meet

Chapter Four...

Booth walked into the Diner fifteen minutes before the time that Sweets had told him they would meet. He stopped in the entrance when he realized that she was already there. Sitting at the table where they had always sat together. Her back was to the door, so there was no way she had seen him yet. His fight or flight reaction was quickly tempted by flight, but he repressed it. He took a deep breath.

If she had made the effort to show up, then he would make the effort to take the final ten steps to reach the table. His feet wouldn't move yet so he just stared. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned quickly to see Doctor Sweets give him a reassuring smile.

"Nervous?" The Doctor asked.

"A little."

Sweets gestured towards the table.

"Well, let's see if we can get this fixed then. I'm glad you both showed up. It will make things easier." Sweets again smiled, trying to calm the man's nerves with humour.

They walked side by side to the table, and Doctor Brennan looked up when they reached it. She smiled quickly at the psychologist and then her eyes moved to her former partner.

Sweets watched the initial interaction carefully. He would judge how to guide their session, though it wasn't really a session, by the first reaction. They held each other's gaze, and a small smile crept on the Agent's face. She reciprocated. It was a good sign.

Booth leaned towards her, not sure how to greet her. A kiss? A hug? An affectionate open handed pat on the shoulder? The fact they were both there gave him an optimistic feeling. He wanted to say so much, but it was hard for him to make the first move sometimes. Now, with help from Doctor Sweets, he hoped they could resolve this situation. He made a bold move and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. She didn't pull away. Another good sign.

"Hello Temperance. Thanks for doing this. We really need to talk. I can't go on like we have been anymore." He pulled up the chair next to her and sat down.

She noticed that he chose to sit next to her, and not across from her. As he sat down, she caught the waft of his cologne. It made her smile, but she repressed it quickly. Sweets noticed her quick smile, and wondered about it.

"Hello Booth. I agree that we need to talk. It shouldn't have gone on for this long. We've both made mistakes, and I feel that we, being two reasonable, intelligent people, have the ability to move on from this. I admit I am not good at making the first move. I was hoping you would, but you only became more distant." She looked at him as she spoke, and he looked down.

"You know, Bones, I am not very good at making the first move either sometimes. We need a catalyst."

They both looked to Sweets. He was sitting with his elbows on the table, his face in his hands, watching their first conversation to occur in months play itself out. So far... so good. He took the opportunity to speak.

"Okay, you two. I'd like to lay out some ground rules here. First of all, I want both of your cell phones." He held out his hand waiting for the two to comply. "I don't want either of you accepting calls until I say it's okay."

The two across the table from him grudgingly handed over their mobiles. Sweets turned them both off and slipped them in his jacket pocket.

"Alright. Secondly, I want to declare this table a truth zone. I want you both to tell me everything that you are feeling; no matter if you think it might hurt the other person. We can deal with the consequences. That's what we're all here for. I know that you two still care very deeply for each other. I can see that. Everyone can see that. You have two children together whom you both adore. I can also see that, and if nothing else, I know you have put their best interests ahead of your own in this situation, but it's time to focus on the two of you. Do you both agree?" He tried to look mature while he spoke, but no matter how much time had passed, he was still intimidated by these two.

Booth and Bones looked at each other quickly, and then back to Sweets. They both nodded their heads.

"Good. Then let's start. Now, Doctor Brennan, Booth told me something the other day about when he felt something started to go wrong. He told me that during Sully's trial, he felt you started to become distant. You stayed late at the lab, and he felt you were avoiding him. Do you feel this was the truth?"

Brennan looked at her hands for a moment. She turned the family ring around on her finger.

"I don't think I was avoiding Booth specifically, I think I was avoiding everyone." Her eyes flicked briefly between the two men.

"Why did you feel this was the best way for you to deal with things?"

They were only briefly interrupted by the waitress taking their order, and filling their coffee cups. Booth eyed her with concern when she accepted a cup of coffee.

"Are you sure you should be drinking that?" At even an instinctual level, he was concerned for her and the baby.

"One cup won't hurt. I think I might need the stimulation right now." She realized for the first time that he knew she was pregnant. He had nagged her about her caffeine intake while she was pregnant with Rio. The words he spoke, she had heard before. She wondered how he had found out.

Sweets had no idea to what they were referring. He continued where he had left off before the interruption.

"Doctor Brennan? Why were you avoiding everybody?"

She thought for a minute, formulating her answer in classic Brennan style. With consideration of the facts and evidence.

"Because that was how I learned to deal with things in my past. For a long time, most of my life, in fact. When certain emotions became too much, I dealt with them by working, or studying, or anything I could so as to not have to deal with them. It's hard for me to change. My evolution process is slow." She started the statement looking at Sweets, but by the end, she had turned to look at Booth.

Sweets spoke up when she seemed to pause for too long.

"What emotions were you feeling that were bothering you?" Bones looked back to their helping friend.

"Betrayal." Her word was blunt, and Sweets saw Booth flinch.

"That makes sense. You were both betrayed by someone who was supposed to be your friend. It was something you could have dealt with together. Now, Booth, do you feel that you encouraged her to feel that she could confide in you about her feelings, or did you let her push you away?"

Booth looked guilty.

"You know, it's like I knew what she was doing, but I let her do it. It was probably the wrong thing to do. But, I was busy. Payton and Rio were still just toddlers. I was betrayed by a friend too you know." As soon as he said the words, he realized how defensive he had become. He knew that, from his own experience with interrogating people, that defence was a sure sign of feeling guilty.

"So you can both accept that the way you dealt with your emotions actually pushed each other apart, as opposed to dealing with them together, and learning and growing from them." Sweets eyed them both. She responded first.

"I wanted to talk, but I knew that you were hurt too. You didn't need to be dealing with my problems as well." Her eyes never left Booth's as she spoke. "Whenever I came home, you were already asleep."

"That's because you came home after midnight..."

"Not every night!"

"Often enough. There was a one week stretch where the kids didn't even see you, except for a quick morning hello and good bye as you ran out the door."

"You were the one who ultimately ran out the door. Not me." Her blue eyes flared.

The argument that was beginning needed to be stopped. Sweets saw the situation deteriorating.

"Hey! You guys. Stay with me here okay. Now, I'm going to let you in my feelings here. I think, speaking as a trained psychologist, that you both," He emphasized the word both, "were responsible for your actions, no matter how justified they seemed to you at the time. In an effort to keep the pain you were feeling from hurting the other, you both repressed the pain. In an effort to keep from causing further hurt to each other, you actually caused more pain. Can you see that now? It is a trait that both of you possess. Neither of you wants to burden the other."

The partners stared at each other. It was clear to Sweets that they were both going over the events and revelations of Sully's trial and realizing that what he said was true. There was silence at the table for awhile.

"It wasn't just Sully's betrayal that hurt me. It was Cullen's too." Brennan's words surprised them both.

"Cullen? How did he betray us? He did everything to keep us safe." Booth was shocked.

"He knew Jared was alive, and kept it from us. It made me realize that even good people who care can keep secrets. It made me fear that eventually, you would keep things from me. You didn't tell me when you had 'not' died the first time. And then the whole circumstance with Zack. Another betrayal by someone I cared about. Honestly Booth, everyone betrays me eventually. I must logically assume that you will too, intentional or not. It seems my lot in life." A tear came to her eye and spilled down her cheek.

"Bones. I promised you a long time ago that I would never betray you. I hold that to be true. Even now. Not everyone will hurt you, you know. You have to trust me." He wanted more than anything to hold her just then. Her feelings were spilling faster than the tears. Booth put his hand on her arm, and made her look at him.

"I wish I could believe that Booth, but the evidence of my past leads to a rational assumption that you will eventually. Everything happens eventually. Those are your words." Her tears were flowing now.

Booth moved his hand to her back and rubbed gently, trying to comfort her.

"You shouldn't assume. You know what they say about that?" He tried to joke, to lighten her dark thoughts.

"No. I don't know what they say."

Sweets was watching her reaction carefully from across the table. She had let Booth comfort her. Even though it was just a simple touch of affection, she hadn't pulled back, or pushed him away. Definitely a good sign. She wanted to be reassured. She didn't want to believe what she was saying.

"Bones. I will say it again, maybe without the absolute finality that you won't believe, but, I will not betray you. I love you. I will do anything for you."

"But Booth, you already did. You left me." Her words stopped him cold. His eyes darkened and he pulled his arm away from her.

"You told me to go if I didn't like your decision. You didn't stop me from leaving. I wanted you to, but you let me go."

Sweets let their conversation continue. He wanted to know what had finally made them separate and he wondered if they would divulge the information to him.

"It was my decision to make. You can't control me. I wasn't going to do it to hurt you; I was going to do it as a gift to my best friend."

"It wasn't your decision that bothered me so much; it was the fact that you didn't take my feelings into consideration at all. You wouldn't even listen to my arguments." Booth watched her as she fell silent. He had struck a nerve and he knew it.

"You're right Booth..."

"Whoa...what did you say?" He was going to continue arguing his point, but he realized what she had said.

"You're right. I didn't consider your feelings. I believe it was left over fears that if I had married you, I would lose the independence on which I had come to rely. I guess, on a subconscious level, I wanted to keep the ability to make my own decisions. I lashed out at you, and I shouldn't have. I should have respected your opinion, even if I didn't agree with it." She paused while she watched his face melt. A dawning recognition came over him.

"I didn't realize you felt that way. I will never prevent you from making your own decisions. I reacted badly to your news. I will admit that to you right now. I will never stifle your sense of self. I am so sorry that you thought I would... Is that why you wouldn't marry me?" His brown eyes were so full of emotion and insecurity that she wanted to embrace him, but she wasn't sure if it was time for that yet.

Sweets thought it a good time to remind them that he was still there, though he was pleased that they were talking. Feelings were being exposed. Truths were coming out. The emotional scabs could become scars. And the scars could start to fade.

"So, this is something that we should discuss. What happened with the wedding? Booth...I want Doctor Brennan to answer this one first." Sweets deterred the man from speaking when he started to say something and he looked to Brennan. They both looked to her.

Temperance sat again staring at her hands. She was aware that Booth had moved just a little bit closer to her, and now he was looking at her for answers. It was the one answer she didn't have. She didn't know what had scared her so much about marrying him.

"I wish I could tell you. I don't know." Her eyes glanced at the man sitting next to her, and then went back to her hands. She caught his expression change.

"How do you not know? I've never heard you say that. We sit here, in Sweets' imposed zone of honesty, and you can't even tell me what happened? How am I supposed to feel about that?"

"I don't know Booth."

Booth sat back in his chair, frustrated. Maybe this had been a mistake to come here.

Sweets, again, caught the shift in mood, and he was ready to deliver his prognosis of what he felt had happened. He pushed her to reveal further her feelings on the matter before he did.

"Let's go back, Doctor Brennan, can you tell me your state of mind in the hours before the wedding?"

"I was fine until about an hour before I was going to head to the venue. And then, I can't really explain it, but I suddenly felt like I was being suffocated. I couldn't breathe. It was irrational, and I knew that, but I was apparently not in full control of my emotional state." She looked hard at Booth. He was listening to every word, but he had not attempted to speak yet, but she could see the thoughts rolling through his head. It felt good for her to finally get that off her chest. She had not told anyone of her breakdown. Not even Angela.

"So...it sounds like you had a panic attack." Sweets was very interested in this train of thought.

"I don't think so Sweets. It was really happening. I couldn't breathe, I had nervous sweats. It was serious."

"That's what a panic attack or anxiety feels like." The psychologist needed to prove his science to her now.

"Really?" Brennan looked to Sweets for absolute confirmation, and he nodded. "Wow. It seems I have greatly mis-judged the effects of the subconscious on one's true awareness. That was hard. I think I might empathize a little better the next time I hear of someone suffering from that. It terrified me. So I ran."

Booth just stared at her. He had wanted answers for so long, and now that he was getting them, he wasn't sure how he felt anymore. Had he pressured her too much? Had everyone? Had she really wanted to get married?

"I think I can explain something here. If you guys want to hear it. I know I promised no psychology, but, it really helps me to understand something." Sweets waited until he had permission to continue from both of them. He noticed that Booth set his hand on the table very close to hers, and leaned forward in his chair.

"Your answer of 'I don't know' to that question I asked you, says more than you think, and I think it has shown a definite progress in your so-called evolution."

"I'm not sure I follow you." Brennan looked from Booth to the Doctor, seeming very confused.

"Now, Doctor Brennan, you have always based your opinions and conclusions on the facts and evidence before you. You are a very intelligent person, but the fact you consider psychology to be a weak science, doesn't necessarily mean that is true." Brennan still didn't seem to be following him, so he continued. Sweets was pretty sure he had totally lost Booth.

"By admitting that you don't know something, it shows that you are capable of growth. That you are capable of admitting that there might be things out there that you cannot prove, but are in fact, truths believed by many people. Not knowing terrifies you, and you were forced to deal with it for the first time, with not having an empirical answer for why you couldn't go through with the wedding. It made you question everything around you. It made you reconsider your feelings, and I truly believe that is what made you push someone who you love very deeply, and who loves you very deeply, further and further away. You need answers Doctor Brennan and you couldn't find them. Am I right?"

"Yes." It was all she was able to say, because tears had come to her eyes again.

"I believe that was one of the things that drew you two together in the first place. You both seek answers to problems that no one else can find solutions to. It's who you both are, and why you do what you do. It's one of the many things you have in common." Sweets spoke with conviction. He wanted them to see they weren't so opposite as they believed.

Booth took hold of her hand and squeezed her fingers tightly. She looked at him, and felt her heart skip a beat at the look on his face.

"I am so sorry Booth. I never meant to hurt you so badly. I really have to say though; I don't know when I will be able to marry you. It's not that I don't want to, but I promise, that eventually I will. If you can be patient with me, I will promise to try to evolve further. We can grow together. Are you willing?" She poured her heart out to him then, not willing to wait another day to deny the feelings that had never really faded.

"Bones. I am sorry. I should have realized that something was bothering you. I was too caught up in my own misery. I should have seen that you needed me as much as I needed you. I want to keep growing and evolving with you. Will you forgive me?" He had leaned in towards her while he was talking, and when she nodded, he pressed his lips to hers.

Her eyes closed, and the kiss became a little uncomfortable for Sweets to deal with. He had never dreamed that they could progress so far after only a short while, but obviously the two missed each other more than they had admitted to anyone. He was happy to have been the catalyst for them. When they finally pulled apart, he watched the look pass between them. He smiled.

"If you guys don't mind, I just want to know, what was the final string that broke and made you leave?" Sweets looked to Booth for an answer.

"Well, Bones just came home one day and said she was going to be a surrogate for Angela and Hodgins. I guess I didn't handle that very well, and we got into a huge argument that resulted in my storming out. It was stupid, but my pride wouldn't let me see the truth." He looked to Bones and whispered that he was so sorry.

She nodded again. Her heart was still pounding from their kiss and her voice failed her. She eventually found it.

"Booth, if you don't mind, is that something we can discuss in private? Now, that we're talking, there is something I have to tell you, but not in front of..." She pointed her chin at the man across the table.

"Sure. Where do you want to take this from here?"

"Do you want to come over tomorrow night for dinner? Instead of having Helen drop the kids off, maybe you would like to come over?" She experienced a feeling of doubt when she watched the smile fade from his face.

"I can't tomorrow."

"Oh. Okay." Perhaps she had been too bold. Maybe she was pushing him away again somehow.

"No...Not that I wouldn't love to, I just have to pick up Parker from the airport. He's staying for a week. I was hoping to take Rio and Payton to the airport with me. They love it there. Tell you what... I'll spend the weekend with the kids, and then on Sunday, I'll bring them back, and we'll have dinner. We'll talk. We'll fix this thing once and for all."

"That sounds really good Booth. I'll look forward to it. I haven't seen Parker in a long time."

"He missed you a lot. We both did." A small hint of his famous smile surfaced on his lips and she felt her heart skip again.

They were interrupted by a man in a dark suit approaching the table. Neither Booth nor Doctor Sweets knew who it was, but Temperance did. She spoke to the man.

"Hello Agent Carlton. Is there anything I can do for you?" She didn't make introductions.

The man eyed Booth carefully. He was surprised to see them together. Everyone knew their story, and how they had been separated for some time now, but he looked down and saw the two of them holding hands under the table.

"We've got a case that we need your help with. You weren't answering your cell phone and the folks at the Jeffersonian told me you might be here."

Brennan glared at Sweets for a second, and then stood up to put her coat on. Booth stood up to help her. She accepted his help without complaint. When she stood up, her pregnant mid-section was revealed for the first time to Doctor Sweets. He gawked at it, but she didn't notice.

Booth leaned close to her and asked her to be careful with the case, and told her he would see her tomorrow to pick up his two younger children, and then again on Sunday for whatever would happen next. He kissed her again quickly, and then she left with the Agent, who Booth didn't know, though his face seemed familiar.

Booth sat back down and looked back to Sweets who was still staring after the departing woman.

"You didn't tell me she had gone through with the surrogacy. Wow. How do you feel about that?" Sweets really wondered what he would say.

"It's strange, you know. I was so mad at first that I couldn't see straight, and then I thought about how wonderful it was to have our children and Parker, and what a wonderful gift it would be to Angela and Jack. It makes me a little jealous though. I kind of wish it was mine. I would love to have another one with Bones. We make really beautiful children, if I do say so myself."

Booth hadn't noticed that Bones was approaching him from behind, and Sweets didn't notice her until it was too late. She had overheard the last part of his statement.

"I, uh, need my cell phone." She held her hand out to Sweets while he fished around in his pocket for hers.

She took the phone from Sweets, and he noticed the strange look on her face. He had no idea what it was about.

Bones started to leave without saying a word, but she turned back after only a few steps.

Stopping again in front of Booth, she leaned over and kissed him so hard he was breathless when she was done. She left again.

Sweets smiled at Booth with a questioning look.

"I think everything is going to be fine between us. I think we can heal this."

"I think you are on your way." The psychologist was happy with the progression thus far.

Time would tell for sure.

**

**

TBC......


	5. The Letter says it all

***

***

***

Temperance tried to depart herself from the blackness. Her auditory senses were the first to come around. Wherever she was, she couldn't move, but there was a tingling in her body that she couldn't explain. Her eyes would not yet open, so she focused in on what she could hear.

She recognized Booth's voice immediately. He was speaking in hushed tones, but she couldn't tell to whom. His voice became clearer and she heard him telling a story to one of their kids.

It sounded like Sleeping Beauty, from what she could remember of it. Her father had read her that story many times when she was a little girl. It brought back a wonderful warm feeling of being loved. She listened;

"So, then the prince, after fighting off the terrible evil dragon, finally came to the bed where Sleeping Beauty rested. He kissed her gently and she woke up..."

Temperance heard another voice join then, her daughter.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah Payter..."

"Can't you pretend to be the prince and kiss mommy. Maybe then she'll wake up..."

"I don't know kiddo, maybe you should try?"

Bones then heard shuffling, and then she felt a weight on the bed where she lay. Her olfactory senses where kicking in and she smelled the sweet scent of her daughter's lavender baby shampoo getting stronger as the little girl climbed closer to her.

She felt tiny lips press to her cheek and she tried with all her might to open her eyes. They fluttered. She felt it, and a flash of light struck her retinas. That hurt. She squeezed her eyes shut again, and after a few seconds, she tried to open them again. A shadow blocked the light from above. A small head hovered near hers.

"Daddy?" Payton's voice was very close to her mother's ears now.

"Yeah?" Booth's voice was still across the room.

"I think it worked!"

"Are you kidding me?" His voice became louder as he approached.

"I kissed her and her eyes are open!"

Bones felt a hand clasp hers and she smelled the cologne that she had come to love so much. His voice was next to her ear now.

"Bones? Are you there?" Come on back to us...you're so close!"

She opened her eyes fully and looked right into the chocolate brown eyes that were so full of worry and concern that her heart skipped a beat. She heard the beeping from the heart monitor reflect what she had just experienced. His head briefly turned towards the machine that beeped her reaction to him, but he turned right back to her.

"Booth..." When she tried to speak, her mouth was dry and she wasn't sure if he had heard her.

"I'm right here Bones. Welcome back. You have had us all worried for weeks now."

"Where am I?" Her eyes were still trying to adjust to the room, and nothing looked familiar.

"You don't remember anything?"

"No. Where am I? What happened?"

Temperance tried to sit up, but she found firm hands restraining her.

"Take it easy. You've been very sick. We almost lost you a few times. C'mon...lay back down."

She did, but she held on tightly to Booth's hand.

"Booth, seriously...what happened?"

"Well, that weekend when I went to pick up Parker, I guess at some point you went down to the storage room in the basement to get something, and the handle of the door must have broken off. We think you were trapped all weekend, and you became dehydrated. It would have been minor for most people, but with your pregnancy, it was too hard on your body. It damaged your kidneys. You had blood toxicity, and it almost killed you." His voice cracked at the end, weeks of worry and stress, poured out in his voice.

Bones shut her eyes and tried to remember back to the last thing she could. A blazing thirst struck her consciousness and she gasped. Her eyes flew open, and her hand went to her stomach.

She cried out when she realized that it was flat. There was no baby there anymore. What the hell had happened?

Booth's hand covered hers, pressed to her belly, and his other hand went to her face. He brushed her hair back from her forehead, and whispered something soothing.

"Booth. I am so sorry. There was something I never told you."

"Its okay, Temperance. I know. It's going to be okay..." He sat on the edge of the bed, and held her close. "Why didn't you tell me the baby was mine?"

A sob escaped her mouth and it was a few minutes before she could get control of herself. Payton, who was standing nearby, was starting to panic at her mother's reaction. The little girl didn't really know what was going on. Her father saw her confusion.

"Hey, Payton, why don't you go find Grandpa Max. Go tell him that your Mother is awake. I think he's just down in the TV room with your brothers. Can you do that for me Sweetheart?"

The small girl nodded with her big blue eyes full of tears. She left out the door of her mother's hospital room and went to find her grandfather. Booth turned back to Bones and looked into the same blue, teary eyes.

"Booth...I am so sorry. I wanted to tell you...I should have told you. I went to the Doctor, shortly after we split up...to find out about becoming a surrogate for Ange...and they found out I was already pregnant. I knew you would come home if you knew about the baby...but I didn't want to burden you with living with me for the sake of our kids if you really didn't want to be with me. Then, I wanted to tell you, but we stopped talking...and time passed..." Her explanation was thwarted by a fresh sob, and a new set of tears.

He bent down and kissed her forehead.

"Its okay, Bones. I understand. I'm not mad. I'm thrilled."

Well, he was thrilled now. His anger at the situation had been averted by the good Doctor Sweets in the first few days after he had found her in the storage unit. She had been so close to death in those days and he forgave her as he watched her fight for both her life and that of their baby.

Sweets had talked to him and convinced him of the possible motivation and rationale behind her decision. Turns out, Sweets had been right. Again. Booth made a mental note to thank the young man again the next time he saw him. He felt so indebted to the psychologist for all his help over the last weeks.

"Booth? We lost the baby didn't we?" She was finally able to speak and she whispered the words into his ear as he continued to hold her close to him.

"No Bones. They had to deliver him early, but he's a little fighter. Just like his mother. I'm going to be honest, he's very, very sick right now, and very small, but he's holding on. He's down the hall in the NICU. We can go see him later. He's gorgeous."

"Booth. I am so sorry..." She tried to make him see how sorry she was. She had made so many mistakes in the last months; she wondered how he could forgive her. She wasn't sure if she would be able to if their roles were reversed.

"It's okay Bones. I think we should stop saying we're sorry to each other. We should start with a clean slate. Here... I got something for you, for when you woke up. A sign to show each other how much we've evolved together. And how much we will keep evolving together."

Booth went to his jacket, which was thrown on the chair beside her hospital bed, and pulled a piece of paper and something blue and white out of the pocket. He went back to her side and sat down on the edge of the bed. He handed her the figurine first. It was Baby Smurf.

She caught the connation instantly. The first smurf he had given her was during a conversation about evolving. His evolution at that point, but the new figurine symbolized their evolution. Together. The baby was a fresh start.

She cried a little as she stared at the small plastic toy that meant so much to her already. It was perfect. She knew he forgave her fully.

"So...the baby is a boy? I thought it was going to be." She looked into his eyes and smiled. He smiled back.

"Yeah. I hope you don't mind, we can change it if you want, but the Doctors needed me to pick a name for him to finalize the paperwork...so I named him after you."

"You named our new son Temperance?" Her expression matched the shock of her voice.

"No...I named him Brennan. Brennan Seeley Booth. After both of us." A single tear escaped his eye as the recent thought of his fears that he had named their son in memory of her came back to him.

He knew she would be fine now. They would all be fine. He kissed her then; the final vestiges of his fear were dimming by the second.

"I like it. Why did you name him Seeley? I know why you don't like that name. I'm a little surprised..."

"It's in honour of my grandfather. A final thank you to him for everything, and especially this..." He handed her the piece of paper that he had pulled from his jacket pocket. She accepted it, and a memory of being trapped in the storage unit came back to her.

After a few hours of being trapped, she was bored, and had started rooting through boxes of stuff in the room. She had come across a box of belongings that had come from Booth's grandfather. In it, she had found an envelope addressed to her. She had remembered that Booth had told her of a letter he had written a long time before expressing his feelings for her that he had left in the care of his Grandfather in case anything had ever happened to him. It had been that letter that she found.

She had opened it and realized that not only was it a letter from Booth, but the Grandfather had added his own words to the end of it.

Booth watched her now, as she scanned the letter again. He had openly cried when he read it the first time. The paramedics had found it in her hand, when they had transported her to the hospital, after she had been discovered by him, unconscious and near death in that storage room. It was an answer to his prayers. Words from his Grandfather to both of them.

The final words from the old man who had helped him so much in his life. Words that would be cherished forever.

She read the letter again.

_Dear Bones... I am not a man of big words so I will say this in words that we both understand. I love you. Always have. Always will. No changies. No take-backs. Forever...._

The Grandfather had added, in his personal penmanship;

_Dear Temperance... If you are even reading this, it is likely that I am gone, and you have come into possession of my things. I want to remind you that sometimes, with Seeley, you have to make the first move. He's stubborn like that. He loves you so much; I hope you never forget that. Love forever... Senior. _

_P.S. Seeley, if you get a chance to read this, please remember that sometimes, with Temperance, you have to make the first move. She's stubborn like that._

Temperance's eyes welled up with tears reading it for the second time. How had she ever doubted how much Booth wanted her? How much she truly needed him in her life.

As she sat in that enclosed room, unsure if she would escape, she had found one of her daughter's crayons in her pocket, and added her thoughts, knowing that somehow, Booth would find the letter eventually.

_Dear Booth... this is the second time that I have written something to you while trapped in a small space. The first was lost somehow, but I will repeat the words I wrote then... Thank you for everything. I think I finally believe in love as I sit here and am consumed by thoughts of you as I approach unconsciousness. I am so sorry for everything. I need you so much, especially now. I love you. Always have, always will. No changies, no take-backs. Love Bones, forever._

Booth kept watching her as she read something else he had added, in the days that she was unconscious, and so sick, as her kidneys struggled to stay functioning. He watched the tears come to her eyes. His were teary as well.

_Bones...I want you to keep this letter as a constant, empirical, absolute proof that I love you. You have it in writing, and if you ever doubt it, just read this, I will never betray you. I'm there. And no... Thank you for everything._

Bones folded the letter back up and looked at her partner.

"Thank you Booth. If you ever have doubts, just ask and I'll let you borrow the letter for a little while."

The look that passed between them cemented their love for each other.

Booth noticed that her eyelids were starting to droop. He kissed her gently, and told her to get some sleep. When she woke up, they would go down and see little Brennan. She fell asleep moments later with a smile on her face.

Her partner held her hand for a while and then slipped off the bed and headed to the hallway where he met Max, Rio, Parker and Payton to tell them the good news. Everything would be fine. She would be fine. They would be fine.

As he reached for his second youngest son, he noticed a folded piece of paper fall out of his sleeve. It was the letter. He smiled as he realized that she must have tucked it in there when he wasn't paying attention. He would have to find a way to slip in somewhere for her to find,

That became their little thing over the years of their lifetime together. The letter passed between them thousands of times, always reminding the other how much they were loved. How much they were needed. The written proof of their love for one another.

With the words from the Grandfather smartening them up when they both needed it. They would occasionally.

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_**Final Author's note:**_

_I don't want to say "The End" here, but I am afraid that time for writing has become scarce, and I may not be able to find the time in the next while. I'm not one to leave anything incomplete, but I'm faking it a bit here. I hope to do a "Lost Chapters" story relating to this one, to fill in a lot of the blanks. A bunch of one-shots about, essentially the lost chapters. I will be able to focus more on them, and not worry so much about a lengthy story, which, like I said, I may not have the time for in the next while. So..._

_Thanks for reading. I have appreciated each and every comment and review. Heart you all._

_Thanks for sticking with this._

_Ciao, _

_Gaia_

_P.S. There is one final chapter after this, but I just wanted to leave a note of thanks here because the final chapter is very sad. Not tragic, not dramatic, just sad. I'm sorry. I tried to write it as romantic and touching, but it just came out sad._

_Thanks again. See ya. It's been fun._

_XOXO_


	6. The I Do in The End

The end.

_you should take just a second and get a tissue here. Head's up._

_THx._

**

**

Booth held her hand as he watched her struggle to breathe. He knew the end was near. She had told him yesterday. She just knew.

Their family had all left him alone with her, he had asked for a few minutes. A few minutes to reflect on the wonderful life they had shared. The memories and the moments that had led them to this point.

The end.

His life would go on.

For how much longer, he didn't know, but not long. He was eighty-nine years old. He had already had one mild stroke, and his last physical had shown elevated blood pressure. Not a good sign.

Two months ago they had discovered her heart problems.

The symptoms that she had started to experience could not be labelled as one particular diagnosis, but as a general one. Her heart was failing. Her Doctors had spent so much time watching for kidney problems, but that was not what would end her life. It was the very heart that Booth had taught her how to use all those years ago. The beating pulse that had beat for him for so long was failing. Her love was not failing; just the physical contraction of the muscle was getting harder and harder.

He watched her now, as she took a deep rattling breath and her lungs tremored with the fluid that filled them. He squeezed her hand tightly and felt her squeeze back. Her eyes opened and she smiled weakly at him. The laugh wrinkles around her eyes deepened, but her eyes held the same blue and intense gaze that he loved so much. They had shared so many laughs over the years. He brushed her gorgeous white hair back from her wrinkled forehead. He had always loved her hair, and had been amazed to watch it turn white, along with his over the years. It was still so soft.

She reached up to touch his fingers when his hand lingered, resting on her jaw. Their eyes connected and held for awhile.

"Booth?" She asked, her voice was husky from the effort. "Will you do something for me?"

"Anything Temperance. You know that."

She took a few more troubled breaths.

"Will you find the priest?"

He assumed she meant she wanted the priest for him, to comfort him now with a prayer.

"What for? For me?" He needed to know for sure. As much as he needed to know, he didn't want to admit that this was really the end.

"No. For us. I want to marry you now." She closed her eyes when the pain of her organs failing became too much. He squeezed her hand now as he laughed.

"Seriously?...Now?"

She nodded. He reluctantly dropped her hand and turned towards the door. He knew better than to argue with her once she had made up her mind.

He returned a few minutes later with the priest, who had been nearby at his request, and all of his family behind him. He had asked them to come in for this. He held the Priest by the robe and pulled him beside the bed. He took Bones' hand and looked to the man of the cloth.

"We want to get married. Do it."

The man looked stunned for a second.

"I can't Mister Booth. She's not of the Catholic faith. Do you even have the proper paperwork?..."

Booth stared at the man with a look that was familiar to everyone else in the room. They had all been in trouble with this man at some point in their lives. He always meant business when he had that look.

"Honestly, are you going to let something like a technicality prevent me from obeying her last wish?" He smiled now, in the classic charming way of his. He had perfected the technique over the years.

Every single person in the room had also been the recipient of that smile as well. The priest was the newest member of the club. He always got what he wanted with that smile. He was about to right then too.

The Priest looked to the woman on the bed and back to the old man holding her hand. He sighed and nodded. It wouldn't be official, but he would say the words they wanted to hear.

He began,

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..."

The Priest tried to remember the ceremony as best he could, and he helped Booth declare his undying love and commitment to his long time partner in front of all the family members in the room. He promised to love her for all time.

He asked Payton, who was standing behind him with her hand on his shoulder, if he could borrow her ring for just a little while. She pulled off the family ring that her mother had given her all those years ago and handed it to her father. He accepted it without looking in his daughter's eyes. He was afraid he would breakdown to look in the eyes that she shared with her mother. He pushed the ring over the swollen finger of his long time love. He said the final two words to her after the Father had recited the vows.

"I do."

The priest then went though the list of vows for her. To honour and cherish... in sickness and in health... for better or worse...

She and Booth stared into each others eyes while the man spoke and she smiled weakly when he got to the end and asked her if she would agree to follow the vows. She took a deep and rattling breath, squeezed his hand one more time, and expelled the words, with a classic Bones-like twist on the two words,

"I did."

Her eyes closed as the priest declared them man and wife. She did not breathe in again.

She was gone.

Booth leaned over and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"Thank you Bones. For everything."

Payton stepped to one side and took his arm. He finally looked in her eyes. He saw the pain of his own heart mirrored in the blue eyes, and was grateful that a piece of his partner remained on this earth. Her legacy would live on. She would never be forgotten.

He looked to his other side and saw Rio had also approached the bed to give his mother one last kiss. He patted his son on the back. He looked around the room and saw his other two sons with the tears in their eyes. Parker and Brennan both approached the bed. Everyone had tears in their eyes. The spouses of his children, his grandchildren. The priest.

His legacy too. Their legacy. Their family.

He walked towards the door and asked that everyone leave him alone for a minute. He just wanted a minute. The tears in his own eyes were dangerously close to spilling, and he didn't want the family to see him break.

He fled into the hallway as fast as his old bones would take him. He leaned on the wall and covered his face with his hands. Tears spilled finally.

He eventually felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into the eyes of his old friend, Doctor Sweets. The Doctor held his arms out and for the first time ever, Booth accepted a hug from the man.

"She's gone Sweets. She's gone."

Sweets rubbed the man's back.

"She'll never be forgotten Booth. You will ensure that. You and all those people in that room are there because of her. She will be missed though..." Sweets couldn't finish his thoughts out loud, because of the tears that choked him too.

Booth finally straightened himself, dried his eyes with his sleeve, and approached the room again. His grandson Max was standing there, Payton's youngest son, and the four year old boy tugged on his sleeve.

"Grandpa?"

He picked the little boy up in his arms and kissed him on the cheek. The small boy continued,

"Do you remember when you read that story to me? The one where the prince kisses the sleeping girl and she wakes up?"

"You mean Sleeping Beauty?"

The little boy nodded.

"Yeah, that's the one. Can't you kiss Grandma and she'll wake up?"

Booth smiled at the boy as he put him back down. He felt his back twinge just a little bit. He felt his heart twinge just a little bit.

"Not this time Bud. That was just a Fairy Tale. It doesn't always end that way."

His and Bones' story didn't end that way, but his life with her had been a fairy tale.

One by one, everyone said good bye and left the room until he was alone with her. The words of little Max made him smile. Such naivety. He reminded him of someone else. Booth leaned over her and touched his lips gently to hers.

The last kiss. The final touch they would share...

He tucked an old, yellowed piece of paper in her hand. The written proof of their undying love for each other. Hers forever.

He stood up and whispered,

"Sleeping Beauty indeed."

She had kept her promise that she made so long ago. She had married him. Eventually.

**La Fin**


End file.
